Winter Wonderland
by GreenCyberWolf
Summary: Luffy has a special surprise to give Nami when he discovers a new island's traditional holiday. Be warned contents will be fluffy.


Merry Christmas everyone and since this is the last time I'll see ya before the end of the year have a safe and happy New Years too. Now without further ado…the disclaimer.

Dis: Santa still hasn't responded to my letters asking for ownership of One Piece so until he does it remains the work of Oda.

**-  
Winter Wonderland  
-**

"Okay Nami, remember you promised not to peek." Luffy reminded his orange haired navigator for probably the hundredth time since leaving the lights of the village behind. He was leading the way upwards through a thickly wooded part of the island the crew had docked at while the log pose set. The captain and navigator were headed up the slightly inclined side of a large cliff that stood facing the shoreline, although the navigator didn't know this. A red blindfold covered the girl's chocolate brown eyes, thus the reason for Luffy taking the lead. The rubber captain was unusually excited this evening. While it's a known fact that it doesn't take much to get the straw hat wearing pirate enthusiastic about anything, he seemed especially so this time.

Nami was, in her own words, hijacked as soon as she and Robin had returned from an earlier shopping trip into town. It had taken Luffy's best puppy-dog face and the promise that the trip would be well worth it for Nami to agree to come along on this unknown adventure, with Robin's encouragement and Luffy's inability to take no for an answer, she really couldn't put up much of a fight. The earlier mentioned blindfold was only brought out when Luffy had led her to the outskirts of the village and Nami had already promised not to leave. Now the Strawhat's navigator was blindly fumbling along after the energetic captain as he tried to lead her to some surprise he had come across while exploring that day. Unfortunately, good intentions aside, Luffy was still Luffy. "Dammit Luffy, you're not supposed to let me walk into trees when you're the one leading." Nami growled out as she slowly felt around the trunk of the third tree she had run into, no thanks to her excitable captain.

Luffy looked back at Nami and his grin only widened even though Nami couldn't see it. "Sorry Nami, didn't mean to. I just got excited. We're gettin' close to the surprise and it's almost time." Well if that wasn't cryptic Nami couldn't say what was.

Now you know and I know and Nami especially knows, Luffy is not a guy who is able to pull off that mysterious, secretive air. Nor does he really try. So when the captain said that, it got Nami thinking about what exactly Luffy was trying to show her. "Luffy," Nami gripped onto the rubber boy's hand that he held out for her to take, "are you sure you know where you're going? I mean, we've been walking for half an hour already and it's getting colder out here." She reached up with her free hand toward the blindfold as if getting ready to take it off but Luffy's hand stopped hers. Nami tried not to blush when she realized Luffy had both her hands in his and to anyone walking by they would look very much like a young couple out for a romantic walk alone. Her heartbeat picked up speed at the unexpected contact of Luffy's hand on hers. It was warm and while sea-worn, his fingers were gentle as they guided the girl's hand back to her side.

"Not yet Nami, just a bit longer, I promise." Luffy, still holding onto his nakama's slender hand, began to lead the way through the trees again. This time he was sure that Nami avoided running into trees and low hanging branches. For another minute there was silence through the woods around them, the only sound being the crunch of freshly fallen snow underfoot. This being a winter island there was more than enough of the lightly falling flakes of white to reach Luffy mid-calf. Even though Nami had resisted in the beginning Luffy was glad he could spend this time with her. Someone once said that it wasn't the destination that counted, that it was really the journey you took to get there that was important. The younger pirate couldn't remember who said it but whoever it was, they were smart. _'I can't even remember the last time its been just me and Nami doing something together. It seems like every island we land at Nami is pulled in one direction and I go in another, there really hasn't been any time to get her alone like this.'_

Nami didn't fight it as she was pulled along to…wherever it was Luffy was going. '_Truthfully I think I'm getting excited myself, Luffy's enthusiasm must be contagious. Sure, at first it was just that rubber idiot being his normal annoying self but now I really am happy I came and I haven't even seen the surprise yet.'_ Just being around Luffy when he wasn't acting hyper or trying to annoy her was enough to put Nami in a good mood, even if she couldn't see anything.

The evening was coming on fast as Luffy led Nami though the snow heavy trees. It wasn't quite sunset yet but the sun couldn't be seen through the treetops anymore, casting the path Luffy was walking into shadow. The snow birds were busy singing their end of the day song and when they flitted from branch to branch soft plops of snow followed their path as it fell from the icy branches. The crystalline snow drifts shone silver as the dimming shadows lengthened across the ground. Icicles hung on the branches of the trees lining the path, looking to Luffy like glass decorations for the forest. For a moment he considered untying Nami's blindfold so she could see the forest decorations also but thought better of it when he remembered it could mess up his surprise.

Another few yards passed with the pair of pirates just enjoying the companionable silence that had fallen between them. Suddenly Luffy started tugging on Nami's hand with more excitement as he saw a break in the trees ahead of them. The navigator could automatically figure out they must be getting close even though she still had the blindfold on. The excitement coming from her captain was obvious. "Are we almost there Luffy?"

Instead of offering an answer and with the last few steps Luffy pulled Nami out into the center of a clearing. The navigator could tell when she left the shelter of the trees as there wasn't any branches brushing against her jacket anymore and it was windier here than under the canopy of snowy tree tops. The raven haired pirate grabbed the shoulders of his companion and carefully positioned her where he wanted. They were just in time. After making sure that was just right Luffy let go and stepped around behind her. When his hands left her body Nami couldn't help the cold shiver that spread through her at the sudden loss of warmth.

"Shishishi, you ready Nami?" Leaning in close to whisper in her ear playfully, Luffy placed his hands on the back of Nami's blindfold. At her nod the younger pirate slowly untied the knot of string and finally slipped the cloth away from his navigator's eyes.

_**A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland**_

_'Wow!'_ Was the only word that entered Nami's mind after the blindfold was removed. It didn't even make it past her lips as her mouth wasn't working properly anymore. The scene was incredible. When Nami's vision was restored the first thing she was able to see was the sky. Reds, oranges, and golds painted the horizon while above that purples and blues ushered in the twilight. The sun was sinking low into the sea casting its last dying rays onto the calm ocean below the cliff's side Nami was standing on. The navigator could see the village, its lights just being turned on as night came on them, it was settled comfortably against the shoreline. If she squinted the girl could even make out the Thousand Sunny where she knew Sanji was just about done with dinner and the others were enjoying their regular evening antics.

That wasn't even the most amazing part, framing all of this was an arch of stone that stood about twenty feet across from one edge of the clearing to the other. Nami stood underneath the arch that was clearly a natural occurrence. The rocky outcrops of stone were layered with snow giving the whole thing a rather unique and beautiful look. Nami stood in amazement at the beautiful scene before her and then slowly turned to more closely investigate her other surroundings. The side of the cliff looked to have cut the clearing in half. The trees created a semi-circle around the arch spanning nearly thirty feet, thanks to her great mapmaking skills Nami took notice of this automatically as she looked around the area. A light covering of snow blanketed the evergreen trees that lined the borders of the clearing, the snow itself wasn't even white. Thanks to the setting sun the white of the snow had turned a brilliant shade of light gold with some pink thrown in for good measure.

Turning all the way around Nami's gaze followed the border of the clearing until she came face to face with intense coal black eyes. Luffy stood just behind her, watching, and patiently letting her take all this in without a sound. The navigator couldn't really tell what was more surprising, the fact that Luffy had not made a sound for the last few minutes or the fact that he had even thought to bring her here. His gaze and his soft smile was one Nami had only seen once and it couldn't have possibly been real. It had been back on Drum island, when she was sleeping under Doctorine's care. She had thought Luffy had come to check on her once, before she woke up to find Chopper in the room, but at the time figured it must have been a dream. Now was more than real though and Nami couldn't keep the blush from her cheeks at Luffy's steady gaze that never left her face. Losing her nerve Nami was the one to look away first.

"Do you like it?" Luffy asked quietly. He was nervous, Nami hadn't said anything since he took off the blindfold, and he didn't know if that was a good thing or not. He had wanted this to be special. His navigator looked back up and for the second time he felt his heart nearly stop as her eyes met his again.

Letting a smile spread across her face at his nervousness Nami wondered, not for the first time, how she could be so lucky as to end up sailing with him. "Luffy, this is incredible. I've never seen anything so beautiful." She gestured back to the horizon that had already moved on to the dark purples and velvety blues of passing twilight, the sun now long gone. Overhead the first faint stars were appearing in the inky blackness of night and the full moon lent its silvery light to the world below.

The captain's unsure expression instantly melted into a grin that warmed every part of the navigator's body. She didn't even put up a token protest when, in his joy, he jumped forward to wind his arms around her in a tight hug. "Merry Christmas Nami! Shishishi."

The boy's laugh was catching and soon Nami was giggling right along with him as he held onto her. That is until what he said made its way into her mind. Pulling away slightly but not able to break Luffy's hold Nami looked up at him in confusion. "Christmas?"

Grin widening even more, if that were possible, Luffy looked down at Nami. "Yep, it's this really cool tradition. A villager told me about it yesterday. Let's see," the captain scrunched up his face in thought, making him look even cuter in Nami's opinion. "It has something to do with a baby being born and a star, then there was a part about a fat guy coming through the fireplace, but no one can see him. There are also pretty decorations, trees, little people with pointy ears, and presents." Luffy paused and looked down at Nami who had moved her gaze to stare up at the starry sky. Below them the small town was lit up with tiny pinpricks of light.

"You brought me all the way up here, made us miss dinner, and showed me all this as a Christmas present?" Nami guessed with a thoughtful frown. The orange haired girl tried to keep her voice steady but it still quivered slightly as it passed her lips.

Seeing her frown and thinking that Nami was having second thoughts about his surprise gift Luffy's smile faded and he tried to explain what he had learned from the man in town. "Yesterday that villager guy said you give a present to someone you love and that it has to be a surprise. I thought since you said earlier that you never saw snow on your island and you were sick when we were on Drum you would like this. Sorry it's not treasure or anything expensive but I tried to find something special for you 'cause-"

In the space of a heartbeat Nami had found a way to effectively silence her usually loud captain. Placing her lips gently over his Nami threw away her doubts and hesitation and, for once, listened to what her heart was saying. She had acted on impulse, something she didn't normally do, but she couldn't really complain about the outcome this time. Nami couldn't explain why she did it either, it just felt like it was something she had to do.

Luffy's eyes shot open in shock as he stared down at Nami. In one instant they had at least six inches between them and the next instant found Nami leaning into his chest and her lips pressed to his. Luffy was in so much shock he didn't even move a muscle for a few moments. Quickly getting over his state of shock Luffy started to return the unexpected kiss. The arms that had already been around Nami's waist from his earlier excited hug tightened their hold. His hand came up to rest against his navigator's cheek and she moved to wrap her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. It seemed as if the fifteen degree temperature didn't even affect the pair of pirates as they stood wrapped in each others arms.

_**Over the ground lies a mantle of white, a heaven of diamonds shine down  
through the night, two hearts are thrillin' in spite of the chill in the weather**_

Meanwhile back down on the deck of the lion headed pirate ship, Thousand Sunny, there was a hastily put together party going on. As soon as Robin explained the island's tradition everyone, save for Zoro, was all for having an impromptu Christmas celebration.

While the missing duo of navigator and captain being gone so long was strange most of the crew brushed it off and Sanji was successfully distracted by the blue eyed archeologist. As the sun disappeared beneath the waves and the night sky began to dazzle with brightly shining stars Usopp walked out of the kitchen and to the side of the ship. Now that it was dark he couldn't wait to try out the latest upgrades to his goggles, night vision zoom. Slipping the lenses over his eyes the sharpshooter corrected the adjustment and grinned as he scanned the edge of the nearby cliff face.

Fiddling with the zoom Usopp focused in closer on the edge of the cliff but suddenly stopped when he spotted a very familiar pair of people. "Hey that looks like Luffy up there with Nami. It seems like they're only talking but why did they have to go all the way up the cliff just to talk?" Suddenly Usopp felt his goggles being removed from behind, he whirled around to see who the goggle thief was and he was surprised to see Zoro behind him.

The green haired swordsman looked through the lenses and toward where Usopp had been staring. It didn't seem to take Zoro long to find exactly what he was looking for and after a minute a nasty smirk crept across his face. "Oi, love-cook," the swordsman grinned and handed Sanji the goggles when he approached, "seventy degrees at nine o'clock. And, merry Christmas." That was all Zoro left them with as he headed for the boy's bunk room.

Sanji looked over at Usopp and the sharpshooter only shrugged. Also giving a shrug the chef pulled the goggles over his eyes and looked, following the Marimo's direction, upwards in the nine o'clock position. He could make out his Nami-san and the rubber idiot, that would explain their disappearance. The thing was, they were awfully close to one another, there was almost no space between them. It was almost as if…as if…Sanji's jaw dropped to the deck as the unspeakable truth wormed its way inside his head. His Nami-san and that idiot captain were kissing! After a few seconds of shocked silence the chef's legs turned to jelly as he passed out on the snow covered deck of Sunny.

Usopp retrieved his precious goggles from the chef and placed them back where they belonged. The dark skinned sniper almost pulled them down again to get a look at what Luffy and Nami were doing that was so surprising but on second thought, a glance at the unconscious Sanji quickly changed his mind. "Merry Christmas, yeah right."

OoOoOoO

Last note- the lyrics are from the song Winter Wonderland by (insert favorite popular music artist). So many people have done a cover of this song there is no single person to name.


End file.
